I enjoyed a short hop on the Lufthansa A320-200 in economy class from Munich to Frankfurt. What does a 186-mile domestic flight look like on Lufthansa?
Lufthansa A320-200 Economy Class Review
For practical purposes, Lufthansa economy class on flights within Europe is no longer full-service, but not all that much different than the budget carriers. Seats are thin. Legroom is poor. Food and drink are now sold instead of complimentary.
But within Germany, Lufthansa remains rather insulated from budget competition and yet those flights seems more full-service than flights much longer.
Munich Airport is one of the easiest major airports in Europe to connect in. My walk from the Senator Lounge to the gate was just a few moments and boarding was fast and efficient.
The “winglets” (the triangular wingtips that encourage fuel efficiency) on this particular A320-200 had been retrofitted wtih “sharklets” (more like what you are accustomed to seeing on Boeing aircraft).
Lufthansa 117
Munich (MUC) – Frankfurt (FRA)
Monday, November 28
Depart: 06:00 PM
Arrive: 07:00 PM
Duration: 1hr, 00min
Distance: 186 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A320-200
Seat: 11D (Economy Class)
Flights run frequently between Lufthansa’s two hubs and I’ve generally enjoyed an open middle seat on this route. This time, though, it appeared that every seat was taken (more on that in the next segment of this report).
Onboard Lufthansa’s use of the slim-line seat is now many years old and the seats, as uncomfortable as they are, have at least held up well. With a lot of business travelers on this route, the first 10 rows were reserved for business class, which offers the same seat though you are guaranteed an open middle seat. That’s one reason we don’t see “real” business class seats on these planes: so that business class can be variable by simply sliding the curtain back or forth depending upon the business class loads.
I was fortunate to score an emergency exit row seat, though since I was in the first of two emergency exit rows my seat did not recline.
There were no power ports provisioned on this aircraft.
Despite the very short length of the flight (about 40 minutes of actual flight time), flight attendants offered a water bottle and chocolate (as many as you wanted) to each economy class passenger (meals were served in business class).
Getting back to my earlier point, this sort of free offering (just a shadow of the hearty sandwiches or cakes that once were served on this route) is still a nice way to pass the time and better than a full-blown budget carrier. But Lufthansa better hope the German government continues to embrace protectionism because the high fares on these domestic routes are quite ripe for competition beyond Deutsche Bahn (that is deliberately simplifying a very complex issue, but the point stands).
FlyNet internet was available for purchase at a rate of:.
- Chat – 3EUR
- Mail and Surf – 5EUR
- Stream – 10EUR
I had completed my work for the day in the lounge and did not need it, but certainly appreciated that it was on offer and connected to 30 minutes of free chatting.
I also enjoyed reading an actual physical newspaper (free at MUC Airport in various gate areas):
CONCLUSION
We landed early at 6:45 pm and I was off the plane by 6:54 pm (thankfully a short taxi this evening in Frankfurt).
Bottom line: an efficient flight.
It was time to check out a new lounge before my connection to Mombassa.
Is LH comparable to one American carrier over another
In economy within Europe, Lufthansa is most comparable to Spirit. You don’t get anything for free, and if you’re lucky you’ll get wifi. You never get power plugs. Internationally, they’re comparable to the US-3 in economy, slightly inferior to the US-3 in Business, superior to AA in First.
Thanks, Jerry! Good info as I was not aware
If Lufthansa is such a great airline (not necessarily your opinion) why is economy/ business class so dull? I guess I expected more having flown Lufthansa long distance so many times.
Their short haul product is below average in both classes. It’s just a case of managing one’s expectations, though I don’t think that they are all that great long haul either.
I don’t think that the lack of alternatives is a result of protectionism – it’s just that most people prefer the train or the car for these short distances.
One of the reasons Lufthansa are again getting away with fares which amount to theft on German domestic routes is that easyJet have moved a fair number of planes to other places and their German operation is still way short of what it was pre-covid. easyJet are apparently operating more profitably elsewhere and Lufthansa are back to ripping everyone off with no effective competition. The level of protection Lufthansa enjoys is such that breaking into the German market even for an EU based airline is extremly difficult hence so little operated by either Ryanair or Wizz.
I don’t understand this notion of “German protectionism.” If the EU is to be a single market, what exactly is keeping anyone from operating domestic flights in Germany be it Ryanair or Cypress Airways?
This is not a real review of economy class. It’s a review of one of only 4 or six exit row seats. This does not represent the vast majority of the economy class seats. Please try again in an actual economy seat.
I was seated in economy class…
Yes, you were, but you have to admit that the exit row seat is, regardless of the section, a step up from a regular economy class seat. On a very short flight like the one in your example, that may not matter. However, if the flight is over two hours, this can make a significant difference in comfort. If you were only reviewing very short flights, then I apologize. I am thinking more something like Munich to Madrid. Which I will actually be on in about three weeks.